A children’s classic that has been part of Japanese bookshelves for more than five decades is preparing for television. It’s Little Mouse’s Red Vest, also known as Nezumi-kun’s Vest (or Nezumi-kun no Chokki). Japanese broadcaster NHK will be bringing the TV anime adaptation.
Yoshio Nakae and Noriko Ueno’s Little Mouse’s Red Vest will begin airing on April 4th, 2026, at 9:30 JST. The series will be broadcast on NHK Educational TV every Saturday at 9:30 am starting April 4th. There’s no information on any global (English) release yet.
The original work, often referred to as the Mouse’s Picture Book series, first appeared in 1974. A collaboration between author Yoshi Nakae and artist Noriko Ueno, it was published by POPLAR Publishing. The books celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2024.
The collection has reached 43 volumes, with the recently released Mouse Who Wants to Be an Artist marking the 43rd entry. Since its debut with Nezumi-kun no Chokki in 1974, the series has accumulated more than 5 million copies in circulation in Japan and over 16 million internationally.
Noriko Ueno, who illustrated the series, died in February 2019. Her softly rendered artwork remains central to the identity of the books. The anime adaptation aims to translate that visual style into motion while retaining the qualities that have defined the series till now.
They’ve revealed information on the main cast and staff of Little Mouse’s Red Vest
Nobuyoshi Habara at studio Creadom8 will direct the adaptation. Habara’s past credits include Fafner, Broken Blade, Star Blazers 2202, and My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s. Kanemori Yasuda serves as both character designer and CG director. Planning and production will be done by Poplar Publishing.
For the television version of Little Mouse’s Red Vest, Kenjiro Tsuda will voice Nezumi-kun. Meanwhile, Mamiko Noto will play Nemi-chan. The two actors will also perform all other animal roles in the series, including Elephant-kun and Duck-kun, differentiating each character through their performances.
You can learn more about the series on the official X account or website of NHK.
Also, read our news on MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA’s New Feature to Turn Manga Pages into Quirky T-shirts!
